Wheat vs White

[Scuff]

Hi. Has anyone noticed a difference in reaction depending on *what* the gluten is? (I'm currently back on gluten after 2 mos off until my GI apt in a few weeks.) I have always bought 100% whole wheat products and had my own grain mill, so all homemade flour products were 100% whole wheat. Now that I'm certain I need to go gluten-free, but am back on it, I haven't been particular. My husband has always prefered white, so I'm just buying what he likes. I've also been buying things like cheezits and oreos knowing that soon I'll never eat them again. I'm noticing that on the days I eat junk- cheezits, white buns, etc, I don't feel good, as expected, but on the days I eat my 100% whole wheat bread, I feel much worse. Stomach pain is much greater and it almost feels like sandpaper rubbing my insides. It there a reason for this? Is gluten content higher in whole products? This is so counter-intuitive to me that ww products are making me sicker than refined crap does. 

[Jmg]

1 hour ago, Scuff said:

This is so counter-intuitive to me that ww products are making me sicker than refined crap does. 

Before I cut gluten I knew I had 'issues with bread' and I knew some foods made me bloated etc. I'd switched from lager to bitter ale because that seemed to give me less bloating for instance. I knew I had to keep an eye on too much sugar. My answer to digestive issues was to hit my system every morning with a massive bowl of porridge and milk with a generous tablespoon of wheat bran. I bought 'healthy' whole grain bread too.  But really, given just how many different ways I was unwell I was astonishingly ignorant about how food in general affected me. I didn't really give it a second thought, just ate whatever. I never put on weight after all. 

Once I changed my diet I realised something was amiss and then I went through the challenge. It was only then that I started to notice things. I was purposely challenging myself at that point and one affect was to make me depressed and anxious so it wasn't always easy to tie individual foods to symptoms. 

However after finally going gluten free I have been able to pin down a couple. I had barley malt from a cereal I thought was safe. Coeliac UK had previously had it on a safe list. I found myself developing an intensely itchy symmetrical rash on my elbows which I'd never had before even when fully on gluten. 

I've also noticed some neuro signs that seem to be linked to cross contamination, so very tiny trace amounts of gluten don't seem to affect my digestion, but they do manifest in twitching muscles, irregular missed heartbeats or shaking hands. 

My advice would be to use this time to get to know your body and the connection between health and food. Keep a diary of what you eat, when and how you feel. That way even if test results aren't definitive you will have your own data to guide your decision making. A week or so into my challenge I knew I would be gluten free at the end of it, so even though the biopsy was negative I had my answer.

Best of luck

 

[kareng]

I would bet there is more fiber and maybe, more gluten, in whole wheat bread .  Also, do you actually eat more ww bread at a time than Chezits?  

[Scuff]

I counted out the 27 for a serving according to the box. Vs 1 slice of ww bread. Good thinking, though, I'm curious now how the serving sizes compare. 

[artistsl]

Fascinating. My symptoms are all extra intestinal (joint pain, DH, fatigue, brain fog) and I have been performing a gluten challenge lately. I too have noticed that there are some things that don't bother me as much. For example, I can eat some cheap store bought bread and react with DH and joint pain within two hours. I had a kaiser bun at a restaurant and the DH showed up after six hours with hardly any joint pain. Then much to my surprise I had a slice of pizza and pasta from Whole Foods and seemingly had no reaction at all, no DH at all!, which has now made me question whether it is even gluten that I am sensitive to. Could it be an organic vs non organic thing?

[cyclinglady]

In the olden days....I used to bake a lot.  It is hard to get a good rise with whole wheat bread.  So, I addd extra gluten (yep, there is a bag of that stuff) to improve the elasticity.  

[cyclinglady]

3 hours ago, artistsl said:

Fascinating. My symptoms are all extra intestinal (joint pain, DH, fatigue, brain fog) and I have been performing a gluten challenge lately. I too have noticed that there are some things that don't bother me as much. For example, I can eat some cheap store bought bread and react with DH and joint pain within two hours. I had a kaiser bun at a restaurant and the DH showed up after six hours with hardly any joint pain. Then much to my surprise I had a slice of pizza and pasta from Whole Foods and seemingly had no reaction at all, no DH at all!, which has now made me question whether it is even gluten that I am sensitive to. Could it be an organic vs non organic thing?

My best guess is to say that celiac symptoms are never consistent based on my own personal experiences.  It is often why I have had to ask my GI to check my antibodies to rule out a glutening.  It is a reason why doctors have a hard time identifying and diagnosing celiac disease.  So many symptoms and they often overlap with other illnesses.